One thing was clear when the Daily News spoke to Ball State’s new president: students are a high priority for Paul Ferguson. A hallmark of his career rests on the phrase “student centeredness and community engagement.”
One of his passions in higher education is seeing student success and being part of that, from when he started as a faculty member to becoming Ball State’s 15th president.
“There is nothing more exciting than being part of human potential and developing people’s capabilities,” he said. “And that’s what higher education is. It’s about finding people’s ability to grow and finding their potential. ... There’s nothing like that of seeing the university as an engine of success.”
Ferguson has been in higher education since his early days of teaching as an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe in the early 1980s. In his 30 years of higher education, he said he has seen many institutions in their growth phase.
For Ball State, the institution has been on an upward trajectory, he said. Throughout the years, Ferguson would meet alumni he called “extraordinary people.”
“So Ball State has always had this very high-quality flavor to it,” he said.
As the opportunity to become the leader of the university arose, Ferguson looked at how Ball State has changed in the last decade, as it followed what he called a “real high positive trajectory.”
“In the higher education circles, Ball State has a very positive reputation and so the opportunity to be part of that community was very attractive,” Ferguson said.
THE FAMILY
Ferguson often refers to the community as “the family,” echoing his words from his May 22 presidential announcement, “Our house is your house.”
To be part of the Muncie and Ball State communities, he and his wife, Grace, are booked for many meetings for their first three to six months.
“We are very importantly, strategically meeting as many people as we can to engage them and understand what Muncie is like, which we like very much,” he said.
One of the early ways the Fergusons planned to get to know students is through helping freshmen move in.
While he acknowledged they were looking forward to helping the incoming students unload their vehicles, he paused to turn to Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications.
“I’m not sure how much moving I’m going to do, a lot probably, huh? Or photo op?” Ferguson asked.
With a grin on his face, Taylor replied with, “Oh, it’s good exercise.” As Ferguson laughed, Taylor explained that he has helped with the move each year since he joined the university in August 2005.
“And I think the thing to me that’s most remarkable is watching how much stuff can come out of the vehicle,” Taylor said. “I mean clearly, all the parents are physics majors.”
Ferguson jokingly asked if he could receive some slack on move in because he had recently moved into Bracken House, the president’s residence.
THE FERGUSONS
Ferguson said the married couple of 40 years started their partnership “way early on” in his career and their relationship.
“She knows me better than anybody else,” Ferguson said. “She’s a wonderfully engaging and compassionate person. ... She loves people where they are.”
From when he started out as a faculty member, the Fergusons would host his students at their house, and he said, “Grace has always been a part of that.”
While she won’t define the academic plan or the research plan, Ferguson said, she’s committed to the university and its advancement, helping him bring together the community.
“You can’t beat that partnership,” he said. “She does a great job.”
The Fergusons also have three children, David, Kathryn and Jenny.
As one of his favorite moments in education, he said watching his children complete their degrees “has been a very special moment, to see [a passion for higher education] translated into their lives.”
MOVING FORWARD
While getting to know the area and the community are big parts of Ferguson’s first months in office, he also has team building to focus on in the administration. This includes finding a replacement for Randy Howard, vice president of business affairs and treasurer, who will leave Aug. 25.
“There’s a lot of administrative infrastructure building that I’m really committed to getting up to speed as quick as possible,” Ferguson said.
In addition, he said he is focused on making sure Ball State’s budget and revenue plans are on track to focus on his student centeredness and community engagement concept.
For coming up with a new strategic plan, as the current one runs until 2017, Ferguson said it’s important for the administration to figure out where Ball State is going with its academics to move the “university forward in the ways that make the most sense for us to be successful.” This includes balancing the sciences and research with art and humanities, which he called Ball State’s “heart and soul.”
“That’s where a president does ... get inspired is that the community came together — faculty, staff, students — and the university grew, enhanced its impact,” he said. “Those are incredible moments.”
